Samsung sues Apple over iPhone 5

Samsung is suing Apple over its iPhone 5 because the device is infringing its
patents, the South Korean electronics company claims.

Photo: Reuters

By Alice Philipson and agencies

11:45AM BST 02 Oct 2012

Samsung said it had filed a motion with a California court, alleging that the new phone violates eight of its patents.

This dispute is the latest in a series of patent battles between the two market leaders and adds yet another device to the list of products over which the two are fighting. The companies are locked in a struggle for supremacy in the global smartphone market, leading to legal cases in courts in as many as 10 countries.

Samsung said in a statement: "We have always preferred to compete in the marketplace with our innovative products, rather than in courtrooms. However, Apple continues to take aggressive legal measures that will limit market competition."

It said it had "little choice but to take the steps necessary to protect our innovations and intellectual property rights."

Meanwhile in New York, Samsung received good news in relation to another of its patent battles with Apple.

A temporary sales ban against the company's Galaxy Tab 10.1 was lifted by a court in the US.

The ban had been imposed on June 26 ahead of a month-long patent trial between Apple and Samsung. However, the New York court rescinded the ban after a jury found Samsung had not violated the patent.

The two companies are also involved in a legal dispute in the UK, where Apple is arguing Samsung ripped off designs and technologies from both the iPad and iPhone in its Android smartphones and tablets.